We explored Overland Park and had such a great time. It is just 3.5 hours from St. Louis. Below is our itinerary! It was very family-friendly (my kids are aged 7, 5, 3 & 1 for reference). Overall, it was such a fantastic weekend adventure and I felt like we just scratched the surface in Overland Park. We can’t wait to return again soon!
Lodging
We stayed at Marriott in Overland Park. The lobby was just dreamy! We had two connecting rooms (with 4 King beds). There was seriously so much space. Our location was great throughout our stay. It was only a 5 to 20 minute drive depending on the attraction’s location. The hotel also has an indoor/outdoor pool with a door to swim under to get to the other pool. I think this would be a blast in the summer!
Day 1:
Indian Creek Bike and Hike Trail
The Indian Creek Bike and Hike Trail is almost 17 miles long, with 10 miles taking you through Overland Park. The paved trail is approximately 10 feet wide and all flat. It is stroller-friendly! It was a beautiful morning and we spotted blooming trees along the way.
Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead
Next we headed to this great educational farmstead! There are more than 250 animals and we learned about growing flowers and vegetables. You can also experience a Kanza Indian encampment and a one-room schoolhouse. We enjoyed strolling through Main Street and walking around the fishing pond. You can cast your old-fashioned cane pole into the fishing pond off of Mackenzie’s Island for a small fee. Main Street had a series of historic buildings to walk through. We played “banker” and learned what life was like in the late 1800s/early 1900s. My favorite historic stop was John’s Blacksmith Shop. We had a demonstration of how a blacksmith worked and even created his/her own tools needed!
A highlight is feeding bottles to baby goats! We really enjoyed feeding the goats, especially watching them all run towards us.
There were many demonstrations and activities throughout the farmstead (guided fishing, tractor rides, cow milking, gemstone mining and even playgrounds)! My 1 year old smiled so big on the tractor ride. There were some tractors with a handle for pulling smaller kids, which was perfect for her! I can’t say enough great things about this place! The staff is incredible and really cares about these animals.
SCHEELS
Where else can you have $1 Ferris Wheel rides?! Scheels has a wide selection of clothing, shoes, sporting goods and outdoor gear. It also has a free kids play area, a small aquarium and an arcade. The aquarium is usually cleaned once a week by a scuba diver. We happened to be there while it was being cleaned and that was so fun to wave hi to the diver!
Museum of Prairiefire (MAP)
I was shocked by this incredible museum! The MAP is one of the first buildings featuring dichroic glass architecture in North America. The museum is a 42,000 square foot facility that opened in May 2014. It is home to a towering T-Rex, several other exhibits and the Discovery Room upstairs (interactive learning for kids). In the lobby, we loved seeing dinosaur skeletons in the light of the blue and purple stained glass. My favorite was seeing the color shadows disappear when it was cloudy and then reappear when the sun came back out! Upstairs, the Discovery Room is a wonderful and interactive space. My kids loved the Dino Dig and the many animal encounters.
Day 2:
We started our next day exploring downtown Overland Park.
Johnson County Museum
The Johnson County Museum offers innovative and engaging exhibitions. The exhibits go through the history of the area from when it was first settled to present day. My favorite exhibit was a 1950s all-electric house that was moved to the museum in 1993! It was built in 1953 by the region’s local electric company. I really thought the museum was so well done. It was very beautiful with the graphics and interactive areas.
Inside the Johnson County Museum, there is the KidScape. KidScape is a fully-immersive history experience where kids time travel to different periods and communities from the region’s past. Work on a farm, perform at a theater or puppet show, teach in a school, deliver the mail, care for patients or fry up burgers at the diner! There is 3,500 square feet of fun to explore and learn while having fun! This was a fun space and my kids could have played here all day!
Hawaii Fluid Art
I’ve always wanted to do this, so this was something I was looking forward to! Our girls each made their own canvas and then Mark and I made one together. We picked out four different paints and layered them into cups. Then, you pour the layered paint onto the canvas. Because the pigments of paint are made of different materials, they pull and push against each other when mixed. We tilted the paint to cover the canvas how we wanted! Hawaii Fluid Art also has classes for resin tumblers, trucker hats, glass paintings, mosaic and fluid art. The staff here was so knowledgeable and led us through every step of the process!
BRKTHROUGH
BRKTHROUGH has over 35 rooms and challenges. It was very doable with little ones and we had a blast. There are no instructions to figure out the games, because you are supposed to figure out the game’s rules as you go. Some of them were definitely tricky! All of the rooms vary from physical, mental or skill. There were basketball and soccer games, laser shot games, balancing games and so much more!
Day 3:
iFLY Kansas City
iFLY was such a blast!! Mark, our 7yo and I all flew and we had a great time. There was a large chamber of air that was contained and simulated as if you were skydiving. The instructor was there with us the whole time and held onto us. Because it was loud in the chamber, the instructor communicated with us with hand signals while we were flying! Mark and I both did high flights too! This was a great and safe way to have a similar feeling to skydiving. In between sessions, the instructors showed moves in the air tunnel. They were so talented and it was fun to watch!
Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens
There are 300 acres, 1700 different species of plants and 6 miles of paved trails at Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens. The Monet Garden is one acre and just gorgeous! There was a sculpture of Monet painting overlooking a bridge too.
The train garden was my kids’ favorite. There were so many model train tracks with beautiful landscaping. The trains weren’t on because of the weather, but it was still neat to see the tracks and decor.
We also saw Koi fish and 2 turtles from a beautiful boardwalk.
Restaurants:
Q39
This was one of the best BBQ restaurants we’ve ever had! Chef Rob Magee is a classically trained chef creating competition BBQ from scratch. In 2017, they opened a second location in Overland Park, KS. Since opening, Q39 has become well-known! After a 5 ½ year journey, Chef Magee passed away in November 2021. His legacy lives on through the leadership of her wife, Kelly Magee. The ribs were amazing!
Zephyr Kitchen & Bourbon Bar (Breakfast at Marriott)
We started off with a breakfast buffet at our hotel. There was an additional price, but worth it in my opinion. There was fresh fruit, oatmeal, eggs, pastries, cereal and my kids’ favorite, fresh orange juice!
Kate Smith Soiree
This breakfast spot is located in downtown Overland Park and is wonderful. There are homemade pastries, quiche, macarons and other sweets. The homemade cinnamon rolls were our favorite. There was a beautiful flower wall too!
McLain’s Market on Roe
Open since 1945, this bakery chain serves breakfast and light lunch, plus signature cookies and cakes. We ate in the back patio room and it was so cozy! The back patio leads to a cute outdoor spot with some outdoor toys, like life-size legos and Connect 4.
Atomic Cowboy
This is Home of Denver Biscuit Co & Fat Sully’s NY Pizza. We loved the pizza here…the slices were huge!! My 3yo said, “Mom, this slice is as big as my head!”
Chicken N’ Pickle
This was such a great place to eat, especially with kids! While we were waiting for our food, we played yard games. There is everything from shuffleboard to pickleball to cornhole to ping pong! You can choose indoor or outdoor seating (we ate on the outdoor patio with a garage door open to the yard).
Unforked
We grabbed lunch from Unforked and brought it to Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens. We ate at one of the pavilions there before walking along the trails. This lunch was fantastic! It has local ingredients with no frozen food. It is created fresh daily!
Strang Hall
This Food Hall was incredible. Six chef-driven restaurants under one roof! All original, authentic food from sushi to wood-fired pizza to burritos. This was a great spot for a family because we could all choose something we thought sounded good! After lunch, we went across the courtyard and got gelato from Flying Cow Gelato and ate it at a great outdoor area.
Playgrounds:
We visited three playgrounds on this trip!
Thompson Park is in downtown Overland Park. This was right down the street from Strang Food Hall and Hawaii Fluid Art. There were some musical instruments and climbing structures. My kids’ favorite park was Strang Park, which was also a close drive from downtown. There were even two trampolines on the playground too! The third playground was Quivira Park. We arrived at this park by walking along the Indian Creek Hike and Bike trail. My girls loved this smaller playground and sand volleyball courts. There are 13 other playgrounds and parks along the trail!
Overall, we LOVED Overland Park. It was such a fantastic and family-friendly destination. It is only 20 minutes from Kansas City, so I think this would be great to combine Kansas City and Overland Park in a longer trip. There was honestly so much to do in Overland Park that we didn’t even drive to Kansas City this trip!! I highly recommend exploring this great city.
Check out Visit Overland Park for more information. Happy exploring!
